Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are at risk of being turned away by mainstream schools due to a lack of funding and rising demand, councils warn today.
In response to the Government’s consultation on the high needs funding formula for schools the Local Government Association, which represents over 370 local authorities, is warning that if the Government does not adequately fund SEND, children with high needs or disabilities could miss out on a mainstream education.
Analysis of Department for Education (DfE) data reveals that in the past four years there has been a substantial increase in the number of pupils with SEND who attend a specialist school setting, up from 5.6 per cent in 2012 to 8.5 per cent in 2016. The proportion of pupils in independent schools has moved from 4.5 per cent to 6.3 per cent over the same period.